INDIANAPOLIS – Rookie star Caitlin Clark broke the WNBA single-season assist record in the Indiana Fever’s 78-74 loss to the two-time defending champion Las Vegas Aces on Friday night.

Clark recorded her 317th assist of the season at 4:55 of the second quarter when Kelsey Mitchell took her pass and scored on a drive. The rookie surpassed Alyssa Thomas’ 316 assists from last season. She finished the game with nine assists, giving her 321 assists.

Clark’s performance came two days after MVP favorite A’ja Wilson set a record for points scored in a season. Wilson, who scored 15 points Friday night, now has 971 points and is 29 away from becoming the first player to reach 1,000 points in a season.

Earlier this summer, Chicago Sky rookie Angel Reese set a WNBA single-season record for rebounds (446). Reese’s rebounding average (13.1) and Wilson’s scoring average (27.0) are both on pace to set league records, and while Clark leads the league with 8.4 assists per game, Courtney Vandersloot’s 10.0 assist average in 2020 will likely remain the league’s single-season record.

“I think it definitely reflects the entire year and how historic it was for this league and how great the basketball was for the league, and we’re not even in the playoffs yet,” Clark said. “I think that’s what’s so fun about it, you’re just going to continue to see records get broken, but I also think it’s really good basketball, and that’s why it’s been so fun to watch.”

“That’s why the fans have come out like that. The crowds have been absolutely overwhelming this year. So I think everyone is just stepping up their game. The competition is getting better and better and it’s fun as a competitor to compete in this league every night and know that you have to bring your best because whoever is on the other side of the court is going to bring their best and that’s what makes it fun. It’s been cool to see everyone really step up and step up and being a part of that has been really fun for me as well.”

According to ESPN Research, Clark has led her team in assists 34 times this season, tying her WNBA record. She also had at least five assists in 25 consecutive games, tying Vandersloot for the second-longest streak in WNBA history in 2021; Vandersloot holds the record with 40 consecutive assists in the 2018-19 seasons.

Clark may have added a new accolade to her resume, but her first half was otherwise quiet. She failed to score a point on 0-of-5 shooting from the field and picked up her sixth technical foul when she punched the post in frustration after picking up a foul on defense. If she picks up another one before the end of the regular season, she will be suspended for one game.

Clark rebounded with 18 points in the second half. Mitchell finished with 20 points, including 19 in the first half.

For the Aces, Wilson finished with 17 rebounds, her 11th 15-15 game of the season, a WNBA record. Point guard Chelsea Gray’s 21 points were her second 20-point effort this season and first since late June, when she was recovering from a 2023 foot injury that sidelined her until the start of the 2024 season.

“I felt like myself after the Olympic break,” Gray said. “You want to play your best basketball in September and October. … I just trust the process and know I put in the work. … I have to surrender to the result, and that’s what I did and it paid off tonight.”

Las Vegas led by as many as 13 points on Friday, but the Fever were able to get within two points with less than two minutes left. A three-pointer by Kelsey Plum with 56 seconds left gave the Aces some breathing room.

However, Fever players and coach Christie Sides lamented that Indiana only made 11 of 20 free throws and experienced weak periods in the first and early third quarters against Las Vegas.

The Aces are the only team the Fever has not beaten this season, although Friday’s result was the closest of all four games following an 11-point loss on Wednesday. Indiana’s two straight losses were its first since late June.

“When we played Vegas at the beginning, we weren’t there and they caught us,” Sides said. “But now they really have to believe that we’re there with these guys, and I think they do. And now we just have to find ways to avoid these lulls that we’re having right now. … That was playoff basketball out there tonight, and you have to make sure you don’t give them an opportunity to take advantage of moments where you’re frustrated or it’s just not going in our favor and we lose multiple possessions. You just can’t do that with these great teams.”

Las Vegas has since recovered from a streak of five losses in seven games, winning six of its last seven games. The team’s only loss during that time came against the top-seeded New York Liberty, who were without Wilson (ankle).

“We’re just focused on the next game. We play Connecticut on Sunday, one of the best teams in the league, super strong, and we have a tough schedule left,” Plum said of looking ahead. “To be honest, we have to focus on what’s in front of us, take one game at a time and whenever we get to the playoffs, that’s what we’re going to focus on.”